Really bored of current career.

[inflames]

As titled i have become really bored and fed up with my chosen job, I am calibration engineer and have been doing it now for 12 years now at 3 different firms. I have lost all interest that i once had in this job, also at my current firm we seem to be over staffed and having a lot of down time. To the point where we are all just on the internet during the day waiting for work to come in. The MD's don't seem to be bothered by it at all, they seem to be investing more money into new equipment and even extending the building to build a new lab. They have even taking on another member of staff, god knows what that person will end up doing? I am paid reasonably well for working in Norfolk, but feel like i come to work to waste time whilst waiting for work to come in the door.

I just don't know what i want to do next, each time i come up with a idea my wife and i find negative about it. Like i was looking at becoming a taxi driver but after talking to few i know got put off the idea, same for other jobs like bus driver or train driver. I even considered a driver instructor. I have recently apply to join the police, but that seems to taking an age to get going. Plus my brother in law is a ex cop and we have had a very detailed talk about it and why he left. He wished he didn't leave, but mentioned the may reason was because of the red tape and the political side of it moving towards the left wing. He felt he couldn't agree and follow the orders anymore. This worries me as my political views are very similar to his.

I guess that i am now a cross road in life where i need to find a career that i will be happy in. So has anyone got any good ideas? If it helps i have an HND in electrical and electronic engineering, but i feel that i want to move away from engineering. So its kind of irrelevant. Sorry about the rant, just needed to vent it out.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Instead of looking directly at specific job roles you need to identify an area where you enjoy your time, do you want to be out of a lab/factory environment entirely? working outside? ability to work from home? what type of people do you enjoy working alongside? there's so much more that goes into a fun and engaging career than just the title and the work that needs to be done.

Take software devs for example, you can end up stuck in a windowless room being a codemonkey for hours on end or work somewhere with an open office environment with pool tables, games rooms, flexitime and a bunch of lighthearted people who don't go about their work like their life depends on it but are still extremely driven and focused.

 

[inflames]

I have asked myself that question before, I don't want to be in lab all day anymore. Don't want to spend my working life in front of a computer inputting data. I would really like to be out and about. Be able to talk to people eirther work colleagues or customers. Certainly would like to work with light hearted positive people, i am really fed up with working with people who think the world owns them something and are missable all the time.

 

[Holst1981]

I used to work for transco as a calibration technician.

I now work as a large format printer and also run a big cnc machine and maintain all the kit we use.

You could look at service engineer type jobs.

 

[inflames]

I used to work for transco as a calibration technician.

I now work as a large format printer and also run a big cnc machine and maintain all the kit we use.

You could look at service engineer type jobs.

How do you find it compared to sitting in lab calibrating all day? I have applied for roles like yours in the past, when i get a rejection letter i have called and asked for a little bit of feed back and have had the same answer that i lack experience with the role that i applied for.

 

[Holst1981]

I found the lab repetitive and boring.
Once I had learnt as much as was required it wasn't interesting.
I really enjoyed the first year as I didn't have any qualifications so there was a lot to learn.

Now my job is crazy varied as I'm working in a small business. It can be extremely hard work and very long hours (that's printing) but I'm rarely bored and once I've learnt everything something new comes along.

What did you like about working in the lab?

How I got into this was that I needed a job and this printing one came along.
I then used the printing experience to get back towards the "engineering" that I enjoy.

Keep looking for all sorts of different jobs and apply for them.
Consider it interview practice if you want

There is no perfect job.
You will have to compromise somewhere.

 

[inflames]

I found the lab repetitive and boring.
Once I had learnt as much as was required it wasn't interesting.
I really enjoyed the first year as I didn't have any qualifications so there was a lot to learn.

Now my job is crazy varied as I'm working in a small business. It can be extremely hard work and very long hours (that's printing) but I'm rarely bored and once I've learnt everything something new comes along.

What did you like about working in the lab?

Much the same as you, once you learned most of it, it then becomes boring. I kind of fell into electrical calibration, i was planning on joining the military i applied for a front counter job at my first firm and they like me that much they offered me a adult apprenticeship when i was 21. First few years flew by whilst i learned the role. Moved up the ladder and departments to doing repairs. I enjoyed myself for the 8 years at the firm, it had a good mixture of calibration and face dealings with customers. But now i think about it, it was mostly down to the good bunch people i worked with that made it enjoyable and the actually job was boring. I then moved firms for more money and a change in air flow, vacuum and pressure calibration loved the job hated the firm. Went back to electrical and now just bored of i, money is good but i can't see myself staying that much longer. At the end of the day its glorified data input, i sit in front of a computer all day one thing i always said i would not do. I enjoy using my hands, being out and about.

 

[booyaka]

Whilst "sitting" around - could you not study other qualifications?
What options in your industry do you have to go self-employed? Contract your services out to other business?

 

[inflames]

Whilst "sitting" around - could you not study other qualifications?
What options in your industry do you have to go self-employed? Contract your services out to other business?

Cant contract myself out, as it be a conflict of interest. I have considered starting up my own lab, but the start up fee, mostly for equipment is silly money that i have not. I wouldn't say studying, but i do find myself reading, trying broaden my knowledge whilst waiting.